Coming Home
by the-trash-prince
Summary: A couple of one-shots about what happens after the characters of each season get to go home. (Currently seasons 1 and 2) Each was written right after the respective season came out and therefore might not agree with future canon
1. Tulip's Story

**_I guess if the fic you want to read doesn't exist, you have to write it yourself, so that's what I'm doing. This is a completely self-indulgent one-shot that I'm writing unplanned and (mostly) unedited about ten minutes after finishing the show, so yeah. I hope you enjoy my ramblings._**

**_Oh, by the way, this fic takes place after the end of the show and may contain some spoilers, so please go finish it if you haven't._**

**_Edit 1/11/2020: It's actually after the end of season one, not the whole show, and since the fandom has come back to life after season two I feel like I should add in this note that not all headcanons here are necessarily possible in canon anymore. I won't say any more to avoid any spoilers, sorry for the long note, and please enjoy._**

**_~~~_**

Tulip's eyes snapped open and she sat up with a gasp. Her glasses were fogged up so she couldn't see much, but she could tell it was cold and wet wherever she was. After cleaning her glasses and putting them back on, she realized she was in a snowy forest. And not just any snowy forest, but the one where she had found the train.

Suddenly thinking of the train, Tulip flipped her hand over, and saw that her palm was clear. The number was gone, like it had never been there.

She simply sat there for a while, snow falling gently around her, only the occasional soft _click clack_of the wind shifting empty branches breaking the heavy silence. Was that it? After everything she'd done, was she finally home? Then Tulip shivered, and remembered that she was still out in the cold. She clambered slowly to her feet, and began the long trudge back home.

_It's funny,_ she thought to herself as she waded through the snow, _when I started all this I just wanted to get away from home, and now? Now there's nothing I want more than to get back._

If it had taken a long time to get to where she had found the train, it took even longer to get back. Tulip was already exhausted, plus it was starting to get dark out. After the second glorious faceplant into a wet pile of winter slush, Tulip finally decided to slow down and be more careful. But when she finally broke through the edge of the forest and caught sight of her house, all the exhaustion faded away.

Home. After months on that hell of a train, she was finally home.

Tulip broke into a sprint, eyes locked on her front door. Finally, finally she'd be able to be in her familiar house, and sleep on her familiar bed, and talk to her familiar...

Tulip froze with her hand on the doorknob. Her mom. What would she say to her mom? She'd been gone for months, her mom, no, both her parents, were probably worried sick. Maybe they even thought she was dead.

Tulip took a deep, steadying breath. If those months on the train had taught her anything, it was that running away from your problems wouldn't do any good. She would have to confront her mom eventually, better to do it now before she could second-guess herself.

Tulip slowly opened the door. Seeing her familiar house on the other side instead of some unknown room almost made her want to cry right then and there, but she forced herself to keep it together. She could faintly hear her mother's voice drifting from the kitchen, and began heading towards it.

"...not with you either? Then I don't know where..." Tulip's mother trailed off, and Tulip could hear the faint _scuff, scuff_ of socked feet pacing on a linoleum floor. Finally, her mother sighed. "No, I'll take care of it. I'll let you know how it goes." She paused for a moment, and then added in a quieter voice, "Thank you. Bye."

Tulip peeked around the doorway to the kitchen to see her mother hanging up the phone, back to Tulip. Her mom sighed deeply before leaning down and resting her head on the counter.

Tulip gently cleared her throat, but when that got no response she opted for a quiet, "Hey, mom."

Her mother spun around, and Tulip could finally see that her eyes were red and her cheeks were damp.

After a moment of shocked silence, she finally managed a small, "Tulip?"

Tulip smiled shakily, her vision blurring, and this time it wasn't because of foggy glasses. "I'm home," she said simply.

Her mom rushed over to her and scooped her up in a bone-crushing hug. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please don't ever scare me like that again," she sobbed into Tulip's shoulder.

"No, mom, I'm the one who's sorry," Tulip replied, sniffling. "I'm the one who left, after all."

"But it's my fault, it's all my fault," her mother continued. "I was the one who made you run away, I... it was me, wasn't it?"

Tulip was silent for a moment, resting on her mom's shaking shoulder. "I don't know," she said at last. "I guess it was a lot of things at first, but I really didn't mean to stay away for so long! I wanted to come home a lot sooner."

Her mom took a deep, shuddering breath and finally pulled away. "Where did you go, anyway? You were gone for hours."

Tulip sighed. "Well, actually I... wait, what?"

**_~~~_**

Tulip flopped down on her bed and groaned. After her conversation with her mom, she had learned that apparently, from when she got on the train to when she got off, no time had passed. She pressed her pillow to her face and groaned louder. Was it possible that the whole thing had been some kind of dream? Tulip glared at her empty palm out of the corner of her eye, but it offered no answers.

Finally, she dragged herself out of bed and padded sleepily to the bathroom. It was going to be light again in a couple of hours anyway, and she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Might as well get ready early. Maybe she'd even be able to convince her mom to let her see Mikayla later. But should she tell Mikayla about what happened on the train, even if it was all just a crazy dream?

Tulip was thinking so hard about that question that when she first walked into the bathroom, she completely missed it. But as she was washing her hands, she finally looked up into the mirror and-

Nothing. Her reflection was gone. All she could see was the wall behind her.

"It... it wasn't a dream," Tulip whispered, reaching out her hand to gently, disbelievingly brush the surface of the mirror. The time in her house had been so completely normal that Tulip had convinced herself that none of the chaos on the train had really ever happened. But it had.

Tulip watched the mirror for another minute or two before asking no one in particular, "Nobody will notice... right?"

**_~~~_**

**_Whoops, this turned out a lot more serious than I originally intended... and I didn't even get to the part I really wanted to write! Oh well, as I said this was mostly unplanned. But anyway, since the other part will have a much lighter and sillier tone, I decided to split it into its own story. So if you're hungry for more Infinity Train, keep watch for that._**


	2. Jesse's Story

**_Another unplanned Infinity Train story after season two? Am I going to make one of these after every season? Who knows._**

**_As with the first chapter, this story will contain spoilers from season two, so please make sure you've watched the WHOLE THING before reading this! Unless you're into getting spoiled, or just hate following directions. It's not like I can stop you anyway._**

**_And one more time, just like in chapter one, when the next season comes out, some things in this might clash with canon, so just know now that all I have to go off of when writing is the first two seasons! Now finally, enjoy the story_**.

* * *

"Okay, here's the plan. You go into the kitchen, act like an annoying little brother, and distract mom and dad while I sneak Lake up to our room."

"That's a terrible plan. Hey!" Nate protested as Jesse lightly smacked the back of his head.

Jesse, Nate, and Lake were currently standing outside Jesse and Nate's house. They had agreed for Lake to stay there, at the very least until she found somewhere else, but since none of the three wanted to be the one to explain everything to their parents, here they were.

"You got a better idea?" Jesse questioned. At Nate's shrug, he continued, "Then we'll go with my plan. Besides, we just have to get her to our room and then we're good to go."

"I-I don't know," Lake interrupted, more unsure than usual. "I mean, I can take care of myself..." Her shoulders slumped slightly and her gaze drifted downward and away.

Jesse, knowing what she was really worried about, took her hand and said more gently, "Hey, you won't be a bother, or in the way, if that's what you're thinking." And then abruptly dropped her hand as he noticed Nate eyeing the tender gesture with a mischievous look. Lake didn't quite meet his eyes, but Jesse caught the faint smile that softened her features before it disappeared.

"A-Anyway, let's go!" he squeaked, walking up to the front door.

"Uhh, Jesse?" Nate interrupted. "Maybe the kid who hasn't been missing for weeks should go first?"

"Right, right," Jesse muttered, standing to the side as his brother opened the door and called a greeting to their parents. Nate's voice because quieter as he moved further into the house, and even though Jesse knew it wasn't time for him to enter yet, he couldn't stop himself from peeking into the half-open door. His heart clenched as he caught sight of his mother. He hadn't realized how much he'd really missed her until just now, and he was suddenly seized with the desire to burst inside and throw himself into one of the hugs he'd always been so embarrassed to receive. But one glance behind him at Lake, so obviously trying not to look nervous, tempered the irresistible urge into something manageable. He could wait, just for a little longer.

Jesse focused his thoughts again, and seeing that the area inside was now deserted, he motioned silently for Lake to follow. Lake glanced around confusedly, and Jesse pointed up the stairs, turning back around to quietly shut the door.

_Creeeaaak..._

Jesse froze. He'd forgotten to tell Lake about the horribly creaky first step. He was so used to avoiding it, it didn't even register as important anymore.

"What was that?" His mother's voice came softly from another room.

Jesse whipped around to see Lake frozen on the first step, panic flashing over her face.

"What was what?" Nate's voice now, sounding high-pitched and strained. "I didn't hear anything. Probably nothing!"

Jesse frantically waved Lake up the steps. _"Go," _he mouthed, and she hurried as quietly as she could up the stairs.

Just as she disappeared from sight, Jesse's mother rounded the corner. Her jaw dropped open. She approached her son cautiously, almost fearfully, as if he were an illusion that might disappear at any moment.

A small, nervous smile crept onto Jesse's face. "Hi, mom."

The spell was broken. Jesse's mom rushed forward and wrapped him tightly in a hug. Her whole body shook with each shaking breath she took. "Jesse," she choked out, "Jesse, where have you been?"

Jesse squeezed his eyes shut as he held his mom tightly. "It's a long story."

* * *

Whittney sighed as she rearranged her hands on the dining room table. Although she would have loved to have spent more time with her son, she understood that he needed to rest.

Jesse had given his family a somewhat vague story of hopping on a train, getting lost, and finding his way back. Whittney wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but seeing as the boy looked exhausted and insisted on going up to his room, she agreed to leave it until later.

She pulled her hands apart again and knit them back together in a new formation. She was the last one awake; Jesse, Nate, and her husband all having gone to bed already, but she couldn't seem to stop thinking. Her mind ran in circles, asking the same questions over and over until her brain hurt. Finally, she shook her head and stood up. Sitting here would do her no good; she'd check on Jesse one more time, then go to bed and have a fresh mind in the morning.

As Whittney crept up the stairs and paused outside Nate and Jesse's room, she heard the faint sounds of video gaming coming from behind the door. She let a tiny smile tug at her mouth as she listened to her sons' laughter.

She pushed the door open. "Jesse, I just wanted to say goodnight-"

Three pairs of eyes stared back at her. Two dark, and one bright, shiny silver.

"Hello, Mrs. Cosay," squeaked the girl.

* * *

**_Wow this took way longer than the last one, some parts of it are still kind of weak, but it's done. Please let me know if you find any typos because I'm pretty much putting it straight out to the internet now that it's done._**

**_Also yes this clashes with my original headcanon that little to no time passed while on the train, but after seeing the way Nate acted toward Jesse in the last episode, I'm thinking time probably passed, if not as normal then in some way._**

**_Anyway! I hope you enjoyed, even though it ended a little inconclusively :) I hope everyone understood what happened, and finally I hope you have a nice day!_**


End file.
